I’m a rising senior and I am not sure where to go for college. I am most likely applying undecided because I don’t know what I want to do. How can I pick a college right for me when I don’t know what my intended major will be ? I live in NC if that matters
I’m interested in the medical field but I don’t know what to major in
You are not unusual!
Pick schools that don’t require you to apply to a specific school or major, ones that have distribution requirements (so that exploring is seen as part of their educational mission as well as yours), and schools that offer a number of disciplines that interest you. Also look at when you will be expected to declare a major. In your case, later (spring sophomore year) is better!
LACS often are good choices for students who are undecided but they have fewer pre-professional options.
Do look at the requirements for options that interest you at UNC, and NCSU. It is possible that the fundamentals are the same for many, in which case you may have flexibility.
Then you ought to be spending some time volunteering at a hospital or health-care facility this summer and next school year. This will give you a better idea of potential careers in the field and, more importantly, most health-related programs expect applicants to have some relevant experience. In fact programs in some fields (physician assistant, etc) actually require it. Spend a few hours browsing on http://explorehealthcareers.org to get a sense of the fields out there, but reading a website does not replace actual experience.
Look for colleges where your possible majors are offered and are not highly competitive to declare after enrolling as an undeclared student.
Look for any LAC or university that is strong in the sciences, but doesn’t require you to apply directly to a major. You don’t have to major in a science to go into medicine, but you do have to take a lot of science in undergrad to prepare you for graduate study.
Also make sure that you are looking at a well-rounded, well-regarded college or university that offers a lot of para and extracurricular opportunities and characteristics. Do you want to go to a large school or a small one? Somewhere rural or urban? Somewhere warm or cold during the winters? What kind of personality or vibe are you looking for from the students? Are there special clubs or activities or interests you want to pursue aside from potentially medicine - like a special language you want to learn, a hobby you want to pursue? What do you want your social life to look like?
College is about outside of the classroom, too.
^^^ I agree you need to consider all the things you want (ie location, class size, would you prefer a school taht focuses on research or not) and of course all the possible majors you would consider (in addition to the interest in medicine you stated above)